Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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Tucumcari, Logan and House public schools announced they would expand in-person classes to fifth grade this week after Quay County landed in the green zone last week for the state's school-reopening criteria. Logan Municipal Schools superintendent Dennis Roch announced on the district's website Thursday it would welcome back all prekindergarten through fifth-grade students Monday except for those who had chosen to learn online during the first semester. Tucumcari Public Schools announced in a Facebook post at midday Friday it would begin a...
The New Mexico Activities Association announced Wednesday afternoon to all member schools that all sports events scheduled for Saturday would be canceled, citing the state's current public health order. “The NMAA is awaiting approval from the Governor’s office before decisions regarding next week’s events will be made,” it stated on its social media pages. The decision affected several Saturday volleyball games for Quay County schools, including home openers for Logan and San Jon and a road game at Pecos for Tucumcari. Tucumcari's boys and gir...
Citing a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases statewide, New Mexico's governor said Thursday she wouldn't update the state's public health order regarding high-school sports, thus effectively delaying all fall games until 2021. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham also said the state was “at extreme risk of uncontrolled spread” of the disease and feared a rollback of restrictions next week, including imposing a curfew, if the coronavirus caseload didn't show signs of stability. The New Mexico Activities Association announced Wednesday the fall season's fir...
The New Mexico Department of Health on Saturday reported two confirmed cases of coronavirus in Quay County on the second-worst day in the state since the pandemic began. The latest cases were male and female. One was a child up to age 10 and the other age 60 to 69, both from the Tucumcari ZIP code, according to the agency's website. That increased the county's total to 79 since the pandemic began. A total of 41 cases have been reported in the Tucumcari ZIP code, 33 in Logan and five in San Jon. A total of 50 people in the county have been...
San Jon Municipal Schools recently put into service high-tech Promethean boards from prekindergarten through 12th grades at a time when many schools across the state and nation are doing remote learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The San Jon school board purchased the Titanium Promethean boards, valued at about $4,500 each, after voters passed a bond issue last year. Teachers were trained how to use them last month. The boards can be used as an extension of a computer, allowing students a...
Northern Quay County voters will have to an unfamiliar sight when they receive their ballots for the November election — an opponent for longtime District 8 Sen. Pete Campos. Campos (D-Las Vegas), who has served in the New Mexico Legislature since 1991, drew his first foe in a general election in 30 years in Melissa Fryzel, a Republican from Taos. Fryzel, a graduate in psychology from the University of Texas-Permian Basin, has seven children with her husband, Josh, a wireline engineer. She is a state secretary and data collector for the Republi...
Quay County results at New Mexico State Fair 4-H LIVESTOCK EXHIBITS Market Swine Addie Lafferty, second place, Class 5 crossbred Addie Lafferty, fourth place, Class 7 crossbred Addie Lafferty, third place, Class10 crossbred Kyleigh Cavett, third place, Class 15 Duroc Charmaynn Hall, fourth place, Class 14 Duroc Preslie Cavett, fourth place, Class 17 Hampshire Market Goats Kindal Smith, reserve grand champion Karlee Cantrell, first place, Class 3 Karlee Cantrell, second place, Class 5 Kindal Smith, second place, Class 8 Kaitlyn Hall, fourth...
Loretta’s Burrito Hut and Tractor Supply Co. of Tucumcari will participate in fundraisers for the Quay County 4-H Youth program as pat of National 4-H Week. Loretta’s at 321 E. Route 66 Blvd. will donate 5% of her total sales from Tuesday through Saturday to the county’s program. In addition, the restaurant will open for a special lunch buffet from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. 4-H youth will help serve customers at that time, and 4-H leaders will be on hand to answer questions about the program and encourage children to enroll. COVID-19 restr...
Note: Events subject to change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. • Oct. 16 and Oct. 30 — Fall Vendor Market. Tucumcari MainStreet will host three local vendor markets for local food and craft vendors this month, each from 5 to 7 p.m. at the historic Tucumcari Railroad Depot. All state health regulations will be followed, and vendors will be spaced to promote social distancing. For more information, call Connie at (575) 461-3701 or email [email protected]. To submit items for the calendar, call 575-461-1952 or email: rwa...
The Tucumcari Senior Center and Logan Senior Center remain closed to the public indefinitely but will deliver meals to those who qualify. Those interested in meal deliveries should call the Tucumcari facility at 461-2307 and the Logan facility at 487-2287 for more information. Area schools are using a hybrid model of online and/or in-person teaching. Tucumcari schools Wednesday — Breakfast: Cinnamon graham cracker, whole-grain assorted cereal, reduced sugar cinnamon toast, orange juice, milk; Lunch: Barbecued chicken hoagie, sweet potato w...
On this date ... 1970: “Drugs of Abuse,” the subject of a slide show and talk, was the program presented by Surplus City pharmacist Bob McClelland during the Noons Lions Club meeting at the Ramada Inn in Tucumcari. McClelland said there were too many kinds of illegal drugs available to the public in Tucumcari. He also noted a marijuana cigarette cost $2 in Tucumcari and $1 in Albuquerque. • Quay County Democrats proclaimed it Bruce King for Governor Day in Tucumcari. King arrived at the Tucumcari Municipal Airport about 10 a.m. and was taken to...
The farming and ranching industry was found to be the second-most favorable industry in the state of New Mexico, according to a recent survey conducted by The Garrity Group Public Relations firm. The farming and ranching industry received a 77% approval rating from a pool of 408 adult New Mexicans. The only sector that rated higher was the small business, receiving a 79% approval rating. The survey included ratings for 17 industries in the state of New Mexico. The New Mexico farming and ranching industry has increased in favorability with...
The book of Judges is a thrill-ride. It's filled with the stuff of great storytelling: courageous heroes; despicable antagonists; amazing miracles; thrilling acts of valor; love and lust; honor and revenge; and, a faithful God acting in righteousness throughout. It's also a tough read, because, for all the excitement and heroism, it manages to descend from its high points to some disastrous pits, with ugly portraits of human nature. There's no happy ending to be found in Judges. (That will come...
Before President Donald Trump contracted COVID-19, a strong case could be made for modifying the format of the remaining debates from face-to-face to remote. Now it’s essential. It may seem premature to consider the format of future debates before we know the seriousness of the president’s condition. But at present the nation should operate under the assumption that the president is going to recover and that the campaign will go on. The first debate was a disaster. Only those with an appreciation for rhetorical blood sport found anything upl...
Just in case I was missing life in Southern California, eastern New Mexico has been getting a little bit of California in the air over the past several weeks. Westerly winds have carried smoke from California’s catastrophic wildfires to Quay County in varying quantities. On good days, it was a light haze that created an eerie orange glow with a red sun in the morning and evening. On bad days, it shrouds even the passes through the mesas. In that way, it reminds me of most days in Southern California. Smog routinely fogged the valley we lived i...
“If you want to make God laugh,” Woody Allen once famously said, paraphrasing a Yiddish proverb, “tell him about your plans.” That’s not an issue for President Donald Trump, at least not on healthcare. He’s been promising a healthcare plan since he started running for president, often with superlative adjectives attached, and yet never produced one. His lack of a proposal was a stumbling block in Tuesday’s debate and plays into a broader, long-standing Republican vulnerability on healthcare. Polling tends to show that, far and away, the thr...
A Tucumcari Elementary School staff member has tested positive for COVID-19. The state's Department of Education reported Monday the afflicted staff member hadn't been on school grounds since Sept. 30. All staff members, parents and guardians of students have been notified. The state's COVID-19 rapid-response team database, which tracks businesses and entities that report cases, identified a case Monday at Tucumcari Elementary School. The PED stated all “close contacts” of the case will be instructed to quarantine for 14 days. Affected cla...
The chief of the state’s mental-health agency said last week he anticipates a surge of mental illnesses this fall in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Neal Bowen, director of the New Mexico Behavior Health Services Division, said during a webinar Sept. 29 that anxiety, depression, insomnia and psychological distress have been rising across the United States months after the pandemic began. Human Services Secretary David Scrase also said during a governor’s briefing Thursday that several other countries have seen a “tsunami” of behavio...
Threatening to write a citation for “inciting an event” during the coronavirus pandemic, New Mexico State Police on Saturday shut down the Tabletop Cooperative Harvest Fest at Tucumcari’s Wailes Park. The festival would have served as a fundraiser for the organization that seeks to guide or recruit beginning farmers and ranchers for the region. Saturday’s event was scheduled to host three food trucks, two music acts and a New Mexico chile cookout in conjunction with the weekly Tucumcari Farmers Market at the park. Harvest Fest also drew at...
A Texas woman whose son died after falling from a Tucumcari home’s roof in November has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the property owner. Nancy Crum, who resides in Van Zandt County, Texas, filed the lawsuit Sept. 23 in Tucumcari District Court on behalf of the estate of deceased Quay County resident David Dwayne Miller. The defendant in the case is Daniel Evans of Tucumcari. The lawsuit states Evans hired Miller on Nov. 4, 2019, to repair his home’s roof in the 1000 block of South Rock Island Street in Tucumcari. Miller fell 20 fee...
The Tucumcari High School Class of 1969 announced Saturday it awarded its first-ever Gary Morton Scholarship to recently graduated senior Tianna Peterson. Peterson is attending New Mexico State University, where she plans to major in environmental/soil sciences with a minor in emergency management. “It is truly an honor to have been selected as the scholarship recipient, and I am very appreciative of your support,” Peterson stated in a letter. “My interest in this field of study stems from my background in 4-H, FFA and my experience in worki...
These calls were made to the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4: Monday • 1:04 a.m.: Domestic disturbance in 900 block of South Monroe Street, Tucumcari. • 1:32 a.m.: Domestic disturbance in 2900 block of East Tucumcari Boulevard, Tucumcari. • 9:30 a.m.: Trespassing in 500 block of South Eighth Street, Tucumcari. • 12:41 p.m.: Domestic disturbance at East Main and North College streets, Tucumcari. • 1:02 p.m.: Arrest in 300 block of East Main Street, Tucumcari. • 1:30 p.m.: Threat in 500 block of So...
These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4: • Evangeline Corinne Baca, 55, Tucumcari, aggravated stalking (violation of protective order), harassment and contempt of court. • Wendy Blancarte-Mendoza, 18, Santa Rosa, driving under the influence of liquor (impaired; first offense) and charge not listed. • Johnny Joe Martinez, 39, Tucumcari, contempt of court. • Ricardo Loya Amador, 55, Grand Island, Nebraska, aggravated driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug (0.16 or abov...
Jerry Koile of rural Tucumcari is older than many of his fellow rodeo competitors, and he competes in only two events. That didn't stop him from winning the all-around world title in the men's age 60-and-up division in the National Senior Pro Rodeo Association this year. Koile, 79, also won the circuit's season championship in tiedown roping and finished second overall in breakaway roping in the same age group. Though one rodeo event remained in a season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic,...
The Logan Municipal Schools board unanimously voted last week during a special meeting to join as a plaintiff in a not-yet-filed lawsuit against New Mexico Education Secretary Ryan Stewart and the state’s Public Education Department. The board didn’t openly discuss details of the potential lawsuit during its meeting. Logan superintendent Dennis Roch stated in an email later in the week the district would join in a lawsuit against Stewart and the PED filed by the Gallup-McKinley County Schools. He added it likely would be filed in Santa Fe Dis...